When archeologists discover new artifacts what do you think happens to them? You would assume that they go to a museum then put on display in the country of origin? You would also be led to assume that all these priceless artifacts that let us understand the past better would be kept in a safe place, wouldn't you? Well, that is the case with some of our discoveries, but it's not that nice most of the time. A significant amount of the most important cultural artifacts were ruined by careless human error.
       
        Think of the library of Alexandria, that was a monument of knowledge in the ancient world. People would travel from all over to read the books that were stored there. Each time a book would come into port it would be confiscated and taken to the library. It would be copied and that version would be given back to its owner, the original would be stored in the library. There was everything from religious books to architecture for buildings. Though we all know how that ended, it was burned by Julius Caesar or a group of Christians. The exact cause of its destruction is still up for debate.

        Although one of the best examples would be the Elgin Marbles, originally named Parthenon Sculptures, the group of statues were found in Acropolis, Athens. They are depicting the Greek Gods such as Zeus, Athena, and Hera. A man by the name of Lord Elgin bought them, then supposedly sold them to the British Government. Yet people believe that the government obtained the statues in illegal ways. In the care of the British Museum the marble statues were stored and cleaned in a poor way. The tools used on them were harmful and caused countless details to be worn away. Although the Greek Prime Minister is trying to get the sculptures back to be reunited with the others. The British Government is notably reluctant for this agreement. In their argument the Greek Prime Minister compared the theft to cutting the ‘Mona Lisa' in half.

        Then only 3 years ago, in 2020 documents from the Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy were destroyed or ruined during a riot in Richmond, Virginia. Though the Parthenon Sculptures defacing happened more than 100 years ago, and is still a huge debate. Then Alexandria, a whopping 2,000 years, we still don't care the way we should. You would think that over these long years and countless artifacts that we would have upgraded the way we care for them. We can glimpse into the past when we unearth ruins and artifacts, let our future generations experience the wonders of the ancient world. Care for the past in a way that it is truly preserved.